Doc shot dead; AAP blames Centre, LG for rising crime

New Delhi: A 55-year-old doctor was shot dead at a private nursing home in the Kalindi Kunj area in Delhi’s Jaitpur on Thursday.

The victim was identified as Dr Javed Akhtar, a practitioner of Unani Medicine at the three-bedded Nima Hospital.

After receiving information about the crime, the District Crime Team and FSL Rohini Team were rushed to the scene, police said. Police have said it appears to be a case of targeted killing and the assailants’ visit the previous night could have been for a recce.

Police are now scanning the footage of CCTV cameras inside the hospital to identify the suspects.

Hospital staff told police that two teenagers, one of whom was treated a day before for a toe injury, came to the medical facility and asked for a change of dressing at 1.00 a.m.

Later, the teenagers said that they wanted a prescription and went to the cabin of Akhtar after which a gunshot was heard, the staff said.

When the staff reached Akhtar’s cabin, they found him dead. Nima Hospital compounder Abid said that Akhtar was shot in the head.

During the inquiry, police said it may be a case of targeted killing.

CCTV footage is being reviewed to identify the suspects and a manhunt has been launched to arrest them, police said.

Meanwhile, Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj hit out at the Central government and Lieutenant Governor V. K. Saxena, saying, “Delhi has become the crime capital. Gangsters were operating with ease, extortion calls and firings and daily murders. Central Govt & @LtGovDelhi have failed in their basic work for Delhi.”

“Bullets are being fired every day in Delhi, and @LtGovDelhi is completely silent. Neither did he give time to meet the MLAs, nor did he visit any police station,” his post read.

Delhi Police reports to the Centre and not the Delhi government.

The incident comes less than two months after a woman doctor was allegedly raped and murdered in the R. G. Kar Hospital in West Bengal.

The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), which was among the key organisations that led the doctors’ protests for safety on duty, questioned why doctors are becoming easy targets in hospitals.

“A doctor at NIMA hospital, #Delhi was shot dead at point blank range yesterday night. According to @DelhiPolice- prima facie it’s a case of targeted killing- unprovoked & possibly planned. Dr Akhtar was a #BUMS practitioner. May his soul rest in peace.An incident like this happening at workplace of a doctor, in the capital city of #India? Isn’t this a blatant disregard for #LawAndOrder in the city? Why are doctors becoming easy targets in the hospitals? Who will answer? @LtGovDelhi @CMODelhi @AtishiAAP @ArvindKejriwal,” FORDA said in a post on X.